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Yes the Harasser is with this update. However, the latest test server version apparently had a rather huge nerf - the Harrasser went from being immune to small arms, to taking 100% damage from it. It will go down to ~1.5-2 mags of LMG fire reportedly. So it looks like it's main role will be mobile AA and possible AV sniping with Sauron/Halbeard.

I don't agree witht he Corvus sounding hard hitting. One of the problems with it (other than the awful DPS which gets you into a world of close-range trouble) is that it sounds and feels like it's doing nothing, even though it's quite capable at range.

I do however love the VS shotgun sound. Especially with slugs (although I dislike using them). Like some super-powerful concussion weapon.

The Harasser is a speedy armored assault buggy that plays a dual role as both a transport and a strike vehicle.

Carries three units:

Driver

Gunner

Passenger in rumble seat (supports a MAX unit)

A pass was done on the elevation ranges of some vehicle turrets:

M20 Basilisk

Increased upward elevation range from 35 to 65 degrees

Increased downward elevation range from 17 to 24 degrees on Sunderer Only

M12 Kobalt

Increased upward elevation range from 50 to 65 degrees

Increased downward elevation range from 20 to 25 degrees on Sunderer Only

ES540 Halberd

Increased upward elevation range from 25 to 30 degrees

Increased downward elevation range from 7 to 14 degrees

Saron HRB

Increased upward elevation range from 25 to 30 degrees

Increased downward elevation range from 7 to 10 degrees

Enforcer ML85

Increased upward elevation range from 25 to 30 degrees

Increased downward elevation range from 7 to 10 degrees

Vehicle Weapon Adjustments:

M20 Basilisk

Upped base cone of fire, but removed additional blooming

Min COF increased from .25 to .75

Max COF decreased from 1 to .75

Lowered projectile speed from 650 to 500

M20 Drake

Upped base cone of fire slightly, but removed CoF blooming

Min COF increased from .25 to .66

Max COF decreased from 1 to .66

Lowered projectile speed from 750 to 650

G40-F Ranger

Reduced Flak Damage from 56 to 38

Decreased time between shots from 272 to 182

Increased Clip Size from 24 to 32

Magazine Size certs now gives 3 rounds per rank.

Increased Ammo Capacity from 288 to 384

Ammo Capacity certs now gives 16 rounds per rank.

Increased CoF from 1 to 1.25

Reaver M30 Mustang AH

Damage per pellet reduced from 175 to 150

Scythe Light PPA

Increased projectile speed from 250 to 300

Mosquito M14 Banshee

Direct hit damage increased from 140 to 150

Tank Armor Changes. In general the below changes will allow tanks to sustain one more anti-tank round to the front and sides and about 1.5 to 2 more tank rounds to the rear. Armor certifications are listed as decreasing, this was to keep them able to absorb roughly one addition anti-tank round to that side. Also smoothed out some unnecessary inconsistencies between the tanks.

Lightning

Front Armor Increased from 55 to 65

Front Armor certification bonus decreased from 10 to 7

Side & Top Armor Increased from 45 to 58

Side Armor certification bonus decreased from 10 to 8

Top Armor certification bonus decreased from 15 to 8

Rear & Bottom Armor Increased

Magrider

Front Armor Increased from 55 to 63

Side & Top Armor Increased from 50 to 58

Side Armor certification bonus decreased from 10 to 8

Top Armor certification bonus decreased from 10 to 8

Rear Armor Increased from -20 to 30

Prowler

Front Armor Increased from 55 to 63

Side & Top Armor Increased from 50 to 58

Side Armor certification bonus decreased from 10 to 8

Top Armor certification bonus decreased from 10 to 8

Rear & Bottom Armor Increased from -20 to 30

Vanguard

Front Armor Increased from 62 to 68

Front Armor certification bonus decreased from 5 to 4

Side & Top Armor Increased from 60 to 65

Rear & Bottom Armor Increased from -20 to 35

New Armor Piercing 30mm Resist Type: A new resist type has been created for Tank Busting caliber chain guns. Tanks have been given a vulnerability to this resist type. This makes these weapons nearly as effective as they were before the above armor increases.

Lightning (65)

Magrider (60)

Vanguard (62)

Prowler (60)

The following weapons use this new resist type

AP30 Shredder

CAS30 Tank Buster

New Armor Piercing Round Resist Type: A new resist type has been created for AP tanks rounds (and a few other weapons). Tanks have been given a vulnerability to this resist type. This makes these weapons nearly as effective as they were before the above armor increases.

Lightning (-25)

Magrider (-20)

Vanguard (-18)

Prowler (-20)

The following weapons use this new resist type

Lightning L100 Python AP

Magrider Supernova FPC

Vanguard Titan-150 AP

Prowler P2-120 AP

Phalanx Spear AV Turret

Liberator C150 Dalton

Sunderer:

Resistance to C4 increased from -50 to -40

Critical damage state on Sunderer begins at 13% health remaining instead of 12.5%

Two C4 will still place a full health stock Sunderer in critical damage state.

Annihilator

Damage increased from 1150 to 1200

Bug Fixes:

Fix for ESF external afterburners not being able to be re-equipped if a secondary weapon is selected in VR training

Fix for ESF external afterburners not being able to be re-equipped if a secondary weapon is selected in VR training

Fixed issue where Vanguard Shield would sometimes immediately shut off or shut off after taking a little bit of damage

The Prowler should now have appropriate 3rd and 1st person audio while in Anchored Mode

A lot of good stuff in there, love the elevation changes to tank secondaries. Max armor-certs changes are nice. Hope the harasser is armored vs infantry weapons. Not 100% but a good amount of small arms resistance.

AP Lighting, going to love it even more now I reckon.

Also very nice to see that Zephyr getting a "nerf" against armor and dalton a "buff".

Yeah, that is the problem. The complete inability for the people on the receiving end to even identify the threat before it hits them, or even after that, usually. Sniper rifles are the same way, but it's more OK, because the time to spawn and resource investment is much less for infantry than for tanks.

Im more annoyed by the new Vanu helmet looking like a cheap dirtbike helmet.

'The community were asking for more sci-fi themed helmets, so in the next patch we have awesome robo-stormtrooper helmets for everyone! Apart from the Vanu players, who have a strong aversion sci-fi elements and so have been given a more generic style helmet.' -Actual quote.

edit: Have read the patch notes now, is it strange that I am most excited about increased angles for vehicle weapons and finally fixing auto-resupply?

The rendering issue is a rendering range issue, not an issue with the MANA AV turret. How do you decide what rendering to use when it'll vary differently from player to player?

Would you still have an issue if you could actually see the Engineer and the turret from your Sundy? Im lucky enough that I've never been taking out by something I can't see coming, but I think I can understand the frustration that would bring. However I don't think nerfing the range on a weapon is the right answer to that.

"Halo is designed to make the player think "I look like that, I am macho sitting in my undies with my xbox""

The rendering issue is a rendering range issue, not an issue with the MANA AV turret. How do you decide what rendering to use when it'll vary differently from player to player?

Would you still have an issue if you could actually see the Engineer and the turret from your Sundy? Im lucky enough that I've never been taking out by something I can't see coming, but I think I can understand the frustration that would bring. However I don't think nerfing the range on a weapon is the right answer to that.

Hell yes. What but a nigh impossible to spot enemy is an engi on a mana turret 300m out? If they're somewhere with a backdrop, you can't see em. Overall, the mana turret needs to be nerfed into the ground. Its range, damage and accuracy are insane. It's a tank that can nail your sunderer from 500 out without, except that it's faster than with a tank, and more reliable.

Steering capability should stop functioning after 300m. Two engineers being dicks and setting up on some mountain top (dropping in via spawn beacon) 500m from a battlefield and twoshotting sunderers and tanks needs to be something that doesnt exist. Most importantly, killing the turret needs to have a tangible impact. Currently, engineers do the fire and forget thing, or they get revived after being killed and place a new one. Either putting the turret on a 5 minute cooldown (triggered after firing the first shot), or making it necessary to resupply at an ammo terminal would both work. Placing your turret somewhere it's going to die quickly should be heavily discouraged.

Why not simply make the turret a supply item, like mines and grenades, except you can only carry the one? If it blows up, you have to go back to an equipment terminal to resupply, for a noticeable amount of resources, similar to a (pizza) box of C4 for instance.

I don't agree with the first though, that you should be able to see a engi when he's far away. He's a tiny dot to you, where as you're in a massive bus, that holds 12 people. That's his advantage on you.

Loosing some control over the steering after Xm is a good idea, though don't forget, these things aren't pin point accurate. Ther'e is a degree of skill in learning how to fire one effectively. If you've over shot the projectile, you can't bring it back. If you don't lead the Sundy by enough, you'll miss it. If the sundy is out in the middle of nowhere, is stationary and unprotected, it's the fault of the driver who left it there that you nail it.

Two engineers working together is just good team work. It can be countered. Have someone with a sniper take them out or put them under pressure. Get some LA's up there. Have someone in an ESF take them out.

And the turret does have some CD, not very large. But it also can't just be set up anywhere. It makes you a target to inf and flyers while you're using it. If the target moves away or around a corner, you have to move to a new location and set up again.

Making it a supply item like Eso said though is a decent idea. But at the same time is it fair? Should the regular turret also be the same? It was built into the class from the start, same as the rocket launchers. Should Launchers only get limited resource ammo?

Last edited by Jesus_Phish; 02-05-2013 at 02:08 PM.

"Halo is designed to make the player think "I look like that, I am macho sitting in my undies with my xbox""

The rendering issue is a rendering range issue, not an issue with the MANA AV turret. How do you decide what rendering to use when it'll vary differently from player to player?

Would you still have an issue if you could actually see the Engineer and the turret from your Sundy? Im lucky enough that I've never been taking out by something I can't see coming, but I think I can understand the frustration that would bring. However I don't think nerfing the range on a weapon is the right answer to that.

I wouldn't have an issue because at the very least I'd have a rough idea of how to get back at the bastard that blew up my sundie. The thing with regards to rendering range, I'm running a 560Ti, it's not exactly a low end card, so if I'm having problems with render range then it's fair to assume that a lot of people are - especially considering the game is running on Dx9. Render range would have minimal impact on CPU load, especially if at long distance it were just rough approximations, which would be good enough for me. The game has to be tracking the source for my client to even recognise the projectile, so a couple of dark pixels in the distance (the terrain's already rendered, after all) would be good enough for me.

I think the most annoying thing about the turret though is the 5 second cooldown for it. There's no real point in destroying it because if the engineer survives then it'll be right back up there and that's dps wasted for what, 38xp? A well placed turret acts as a shield for an engie to duck down and hide whilst the cooldown/assembly times are in process, it means ultimately you're relying on a crackshot marksman to fix the issue. Assuming they can render it.

Yeah, it's mostly the render issues that are a problem. As far as I know render range is standard and not related to your gpu or any other part of your rig. It's basically the same as the problem with libs in the past - they should not be able to destroy stuff that is unable to render them. Not sure if the issue is with rendering the turret/engi themselves, or just that the projectiles don't render, meaning you cannot see where they are coming from.

Having said that I like the idea of a meaningful turret cooldown period as well (whether that is through supply or timer).

I don't agree with the first though, that you should be able to see a engi when he's far away. He's a tiny dot to you.

exactly. even if the engineer rendered, spotting him is going to be very hard. if he fires from 400m+, the projectile isn't going to render, and he can get 2-3 shots in before being spotted and *maybe* taken out.

Originally Posted by Jesus_Phish

Two engineers working together is just good team work. It can be countered. Have someone with a sniper take them out or put them under pressure. Get some LA's up there. Have someone in an ESF take them out.

It's a shitty tactic. There are engineers that do this all the time. They are too far away to reliably see/spot most of the time, and even if they get killed, they're back 30 seconds later. Also, two people in a tank is teamwork, yet it's nowhere NEAR as good as two mana turrets.

Originally Posted by Jesus_Phish

Making it a supply item like Eso said though is a decent idea. But at the same time is it fair? Should the regular turret also be the same? It was built into the class from the start, same as the rocket launchers. Should Launchers only get limited resource ammo?

Is it fair if three engineers can take out a whole armour column (10 tanks, 20 people. seen it happening more than once) by themselves? All they need is a position on high-ground that's reasonably far from the actual battle, and they're going to one-shot every single tank. One after the other. Yeah, it's teamwork, but it's also crazy. As it stands, the AV mana is the single most overpowered thing in the game right now, and having you resupply for placing a new turret sounds more than fair.